I’ve
taught a wide range of students—from toddlers through senior citizens. This
includes teaching college classes, teaching online English classes to kids, and
teaching in volunteer positions. There are many similarities between teaching
various ages and a few differences including: attention span, abstract thinking
ability, and knowledge base.
Attention Span
When
teaching adults, they can only absorb so much material. If you stretch them too
far, you’re wasting effort. When absorbing information through watching or
listening, this attention span is only about 15-20 minutes. Sit through a
sermon or lecture. About 15-20 minutes in the average adult either begins to
lose focus or starts forgetting what was covered. This is normative. There’re
certainly people that can listen for hours. And, a certain number of motivated
students that will take notes and stay focused for a long time. But, the 15-20
minute rule applies to most.
So, what to
do if you have more than 15-20 minutes of material? You need to give people a
chance to apply the material. This could be through discussion or hands-on
application. Once the material begins to be absorbed into longer term memory
then you can move on and present more material. So much that is done in our
education or religious circles disregards this simply rule.
While this
applies to adults, the younger a person is, the shorter their attention span. A
toddler may only have an attention span of a minute. An elementary school
student’s attention will be longer, but it does vary between students. Usually,
girls have better attention spans than boys.
So, we
could view attention span on a continuum—from maybe a minute or so for a
toddler to 15-20 minutes for an adult. These are just general guidelines but
should help if you need to teach something to various ages.
Abstract Thinking
Young kids
have limited ability to think in concepts. They tend to need information boiled
down to stories, object lessons, and hands-on activities. For example, a young
kid may understand what a table is; but he may not be able to wrap his head
around why "table" is a noun. He just doesn’t have the ability.
When do
people gain the ability to think in the abstract? In general, I wouldn’t expect
a kid much younger than 8-10 to be able to do much with abstract thinking. This ability may develop quite a bit earlier or later. I’ve met some adults that don’t excel
at abstract thinking. Often, they are very gifted at using their hands—carpentry,
painting, sports, or other kinds of physical activities.
I suspect abstract
thinking ability begins to develop when one is a toddler, but I still would
keep things extremely concrete for anyone under 8-10 years old.
While
adults do have the ability to think in the abstract, it is much easier to
absorb concrete information—stories, object lessons, and hands-on experiences.
Ever sit through that hour-long terms-and-definitions college lecture? Later,
you look at your notes and think, “Did we cover this? We must have, but I don’t
remember a thing!” Why? Because you were presented abstract material and it
didn’t sink in. You’re more likely to remember a funny story your teacher told
than a list of terms and definitions.
My advice
with any age group is to keep things as concrete as possible. Use stories,
object lessons, hands-on applications, and visual aids as much as possible. It will
help your material sink in deep.
Knowledge Base
This is
the final difference in teaching age groups. In general, the older a person is,
the deeper their knowledge base. Adults in general know more than children.
Although, I have met a few adults where that seems iffy.
The most
important thing when teaching is to put yourself in the shoes of the learner.
Figure out what they know and don’t know. Don’t place unreasonable expectations
on them. Teach at their level and you’ll be fine.
Summary
Jesus was
the master teacher. Think about what he did? He met people where they were—even
at times just meeting a basic physical need like making sure a hungry person
was fed. He taught using stories and analogies—putting things into the concrete,
everyday life of his audience. Most of his “sermons” were only a few minutes
long. And, even his longest sermons (like the Sermon on the Mount) probably lasted
under a half hour.
There are an
infinite number of variables when teaching to different age groups. However, if
you consider attention span, abstract thinking abilities, and knowledge base,
you’ll be well on your way to effectively meeting your audience.
